N.J.’s best strip mall for food is in this Jersey Shore town

New Jersey probably leads the nation — and the world — in strip malls. You can’t drive a block here without running across one. A half-dozen or more stores and shops nestled neatly next to each other. Oh, we forgot about the restaurants. Strip mall food doesn’t get much respect, even if many of us go the strip mall route when it comes to dining out.

What’s New Jersey’s best strip mall for food? I eat all over the state, and often in strip malls, which have served up many of my most memorable meals of the past two decades. Picking one was tough. There’s New Road Plaza in Parsippany. Stella Plaza in Toms River. Festival Plaza in Edison. Village Square Mall, Warren. Magnolia Court Plaza, Vineland. Among many others. There’s probably a good one in the town you live.

But I kept coming back to one place, in a town that may come as a surprise to many. Belmar. Yes, that quintessential Jersey Shore summer playground. Belmar Mall includes, in one savory strip, 10th Avenue Burrito, Hoagitos, Jersey Shore BBQ, Kotta Sushi Asian Fusion, Simply Southern, Sonny’s Grille and Domesticated Dad. (There are eateries on the other side of the parking lot, but they are not part of Belmar Mall).

For my money, no other strip mall in the state boasts the diversity and dining excellence of Belmar Mall. None of the restaurants qualify as fine dining, but don’t hold that against them. Not one is part of a chain. There’s a soul/Southern food restaurant. Sushi/Asian fusion. Tacos and burritos. A hot dogs and burgers joint. A mini-sub/sandwich shop. A barbecue joint. A breakfast/lunch spot with good pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches and cayenne-spiced pickles. The latter is Domesticated Dad, the new kid on the block, which opened just a month ago.

You’ll meet all the restaurant owners below. They’ll talk about their food and how they ended up on what folks here call "Restaurant Row.'' I call it the best strip mall for food in the state.

10th Avenue Burrito Co.

“The godfather of this strip mall” is how Marc Spagnuolo, co-owner of Hoagitos, describes Brian Katz (photo), owner of 10th Avenue Burrito Co. The restaurant opened as a four-seat carry-out place on 10th Avenue in Belmar in 2003 (monthly rent: $700), then re-located to Belmar Mall in 2010 in the space now occupied by Simply Southern. It moved to its current space in 2012 when a liquor license became available. Katz has been in the restaurant business since he was 13. Business at 10th Avenue Burrito "blew up,’' he says, when an episode of Food Network’s ”Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'' was filmed at the initial Belmar Mall location in 2010.

A sign outside cautions: "We will not serve bar crawls before 10:00 PM without prior notification.'' Asked about the sign, Katz replies, "We’re not that place people come in and punch holes in the wall.''

Simply Southern

My first taste of Rita Simmons’ cooking came in 2008 at the Englishtown Flea Market, where she and her sons ran My Two Sons, a first-rate eatery operating in the unlikeliest of locations. Her crab cakes took first-place honors at several food events at Monmouth Park. The big guy in the kitchen at My Two Sons? Rita’s son, Rasheed, a former linebacker with the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.

Simply Southern opened in 2015. Renovations include a new coat of paint. "I told my son, ‘We are not having a greasy spoon,''’ Rita says, laughing. "What we offer is for middle-income people of other nationalities to explore Southern food. This is Southern cuisine: White Southerners cook it. Black Southerners cook it.''

They do a brisk business in catering. On the day I visited, Rasheed had just returned from a catering job in Manhattan. When we finished talking, he headed back to Manhattan for another job.

Hoagitos

Hoagitos’ story begins on the Asbury Park boardwalk, where the mini-sandwich shop opened in 2013. Owners and brothers-in-law Terence McGill and Marc Spagnuolo (photo) wanted to offer subs and sandwiches, but instead of the typical meat, lettuce and cheese-packed Jersey sub, they’d offer scaled-down sandwiches, with quality ingredients and top-notch bread. Hoagitos — "itos'' means "little'' in Spanish — left the boardwalk, opening a storefront in Belmar Mall on Memorial Day weekend, 2016. The space had been a dry cleaners, and renovations took five months.

Hoagitos still offers meatball, turkey, sopressata and other subs, and their classic pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich made my best Taylor ham/pork roll sandwich list. But the owners like to talk about the four fried chicken sandwiches on the menu. The Dude Ranch corrals a panko-fried breast, bacon, arugula, pickles, tomato, onion and buttermilk ranch dressing, while the Finger Licker is a buttermilk-dredged thigh with honey butter glaze, lettuce, pickles and roasted garlic mayo. Last Thanksgiving, its Turkinator — fried turkey breast, stuffing, cranberry sauce — was a big hit. Hoagitos also made my N.J.'s best fried chicken list. Fried chicken sandwiches are buy one, get one free every Monday after 4 p.m., whether takeout, delivery or dine-in.

Jersey Shore BBQ

Jersey Shore BBQ opened in Belmar in May 2010. Owner Doug Walsh (photo) came by barbecue the roundabout way: The Middletown native was doing tech consultant work in Texas when he "fell in love with the food — brisket, ribs, intense smoking.'' Back in Jersey, he started doing barbecue cookouts in his backyard. That led to catering, which led to the Belmar storefront. Walsh opened a second Jersey Shore BBQ location in 2017 in East Brunswick. After Hurricane Sandy, Walsh turned the Belmar location into a soup kitchen for first responders, locals and "anybody who wanted a meal.''

The ribs, wings and brisket are all highly recommended at Jersey Shore BBQ. The ribs made my N.J.'s best BBQ list, and the wings made my N.J.'s best wings list. The wings are plump, and there are seven sauces, including Texas BBQ, jalapeno honey, Benny (roasted garlic and cherry pepper butter) and habanero apricot, the latter packing some nice fruity heat. The menu also includes fried pickles, smoked pork belly, burgers and something called the Oink-a-Dilla — a quesadilla stuffed with pulled pork, cheddar cheese, bacon, grilled onions and jalapeno honey sauce. Why is there corned beef in the photo? Because it looks so pretty, and is juicy perfection besides. It’s on the menu now through the end of March.

Kotta Sushi

Kotta Sushi is a family affair. Tiffany Weng (right in photo) is the boss, but family members help run the restaurant. Kotta Sushi opened in 2009, and get this — they’ve never raised their prices. "We haven’t changed anything — the menu, same price.''

She was attracted to the Belmar location for one reason. "I like the beach, the ocean.'' It’ll take a while to go through the menu: There are 29 classic rolls, 18 special rolls, plus Asian wok/grill items, noodle dishes, bento boxes, Thai curry, teriyaki and tempura.

The most popular rolls at Kotta Sushi are the Valentine (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and avocado wrapped in soy bean paper) and the Kotta Roll (shrimp tempura and avocado topped with spicy crab and dry seaweed powder). There’s a Spider Man 3 Roll (soft shell crab tempura and cucumber topped with mango and avocado) and even a Twitter roll — spicy, crunchy salmon topped with avocado and tobiko (flying fish roe). I took the easy way out (I pay for all the food on all my food missions) and ordered the Sushi Lunch (six pieces, plus a California Roll) and the Sashimi Lunch (10 pieces of assorted raw fish).

Domesticated Dad

If there were an award for best new N.J. business name, Domesticated Dad would surely win it. The dad in question is Michael Young, a Johnson & Wales graduate. In 2013, he and his wife Jennie (photo) started the Domesticated Dad Brown Bag School Lunch Delivery Service, providing lunches to local schoolkids (parents would place orders on Facebook). The venture had an unlikely inspiration — their daughter, Millana.

"I was putting her to sleep one night. She said, ‘Daddy, you should make food for all my friends,’ '' Mike said.

Young used Jersey Shore BBQ’s kitchen after-hours to make the lunches. The couple then opened what Jennie called a “teeny tiny'' storefront in Oakhurst in 2015, then ”a hole in the wall'' spot in Asbury Park in 2017. This January, they opened the Belmar Mall location, with its skull-shaped tea dispensers, an "Order Here'' sign above a vintage typewriter and a plate that reads, "everything tastes better in a brown bag.'' Formerly in the space: a vegan restaurant.

Sonny’s Grille

Those who remember the riotously kitschy interior of Sonny’s Grille in Neptune will be glad to know all the photos, signs, jerseys and assorted knicknacks can be found in the Belmar location. Sonny’s, named after owner Dave La Tempa’s late father, is a hot dog joint with 19 kind of dogs, from the Jersey dog (kraut, pickles, chili, mustard, sport peppers) and the Springsteen (chili, red cherry peppers, jalapenos, cayenne peppers) to the Belmar Dog (deep-fried dog, cheese sauce, chili, red cherry peppers).

But the hottest item at Sonny’s are not the hot dogs but the burgers. “My burgers are flying out of here like crazy,” says La Tempa, who worked in the Jersey City water department for 20 years. There are 16 burgers on the menu, from a blue cheese bacon burger and turkey burger to the meaty monster known as the Friday Night Lights, two half-pound burgers topped with provolone and American cheese, applewood-smoked bacon and onions.